FTC Launches Broad Probe into OpenAI, Anthropic and Evaluator METR

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has formally launched a sweeping investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic and other unnamed frontier AI labs, with METR, an evaluation organization tied to effective altruism, also named as a target; the FTC is reportedly considering compelling relevant executives to testify under oath. The investigation's core question is whether these companies violated federal law prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices.

Confirmed

Multiple outlets (New York Post, New York Times) and authors (@Hesamation, @McDonaghMatthew relaying Andrew Curran, @nordicinst, @ns123abc) reported that the FTC has opened an investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI labs.
The probe focuses on potential safety risks of the models, especially consumer harm from out-of-control AI systems; other possible violations include misuse.
Per two posts by @ns123abc, FTC Chairman Ferguson launched the investigation before the Hugging Face hack and had warned the AI labs; evaluation organization METR was included in the probe, and executives may be required to testify under oath.

Why it matters

This is the latest major move by U.S. regulators against top AI companies, directly touching on consumer protection issues around frontier models.
@Hesamation pointed out the irony: these labs had been calling for stronger government regulation of frontier models, and now find themselves under investigation.
METR being investigated means third-party evaluation organizations themselves are entering the regulatory spotlight, potentially affecting the independence and credibility of the entire AI evaluation ecosystem.

2026-09-30 ~ 2026-10-01 · 6 related posts

Primary sources

FTC opens probe into OpenAI, Anthropic and eval firm METR, may compel exec testimony — ns123abc · 2026-10-01 00:48 (UTC+08:00)
FTC opens sweeping safety probe into OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI labs — Hesamation · 2026-09-30 23:28 (UTC+08:00)
FTC Opens Broad Investigation Into OpenAI and Anthropic Over Consumer Harms — nordicinst · 2026-10-01 00:04 (UTC+08:00)

[source] FTC opens sweeping safety probe into OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI labs — Hesamation · 2026-09-30
[source] FTC Opens Broad Investigation Into OpenAI and Anthropic Over Consumer Harms — nordicinst · 2026-10-01
[source] FTC opens probe into OpenAI, Anthropic and eval firm METR, may compel exec testimony — ns123abc · 2026-10-01

3 near-duplicate retellings: McDonaghMatthew · ns123abc · ShakeelHashim